Arla Foods
47.7 Billion DKK (2007) | operating_income = 1.52 Billion DKK (2007) | net_income = 938 Million DKK (2007) | num_employees = 16 559 (2007) | parent = | subsid = | homepage = www.arlafoods.com | footnotes = }} Arla Foods is a cooperative based in Århus, Denmark, and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia. Arla was formed as the result of a merger between the Swedish dairy cooperative Arla and the Danish dairy company MD Foods on 17 April 2000. Arla Foods is owned by approximately 10,600 milk producers in Denmark and Sweden. The name Arla derives from the same word as the English word "early" and is an archaic Swedish term for "early (in the morning). Arla was the name of a local Swedish dairy industry in the end of the 19th century which was one of the founders of modern Arla Foods. Subsidiaries Denmark, Sweden, and the UK are considered home markets because the Group has production in all three countries. Turnover in these three markets accounts for approximately 73% of Arla Foods’ turnover. Arla owns 100% of the stock exchange-listed UK company Arla Foods UK. The purchase of Wisconsin-based White Clover Dairy, a company with 170 employees, on January 26, 2006, provided direct access to the U.S. market (White Clover had produced Arla products under license since 1998). "Arla Foods acquires US dairy company", Nordic Business Report,January 26, 2006 In addition to Denmark, Sweden and the UK, Arla Foods operates subsidiaries in 19 export markets. Middle East boycott over Muhammad cartoons Arla's sales were seriously affected by a boycott of Danish products in the Middle East in 2006. Transnational anger among Muslims over satirical cartoons of Muhammed was the immediate cause of this. After the Danish government refused to condemn the cartoons or meet with eleven concerned ambassadors from Muslim nations, a boycott was organized, starting in Saudi Arabia and spreading across the Middle East. The Middle East is Arla's largest market outside of Europe. On 2006-02-03, the company said that sales in the Middle East had stopped completely, costing the company two million US$ a day . Soon after the boycott began to affect Arla's sales, the Danish government met with Muslim ambassadors, the newspaper issued apologetic statements. Unfortunately for Arla, the boycott continued undiminished for some time. In March 2006, Arla took out full-page advertising in Saudi Arabia, apologizing for the cartoons and indicating Arla's great respect for Islam in the country. This raised controversy back in Denmark, where women's organizations and some Danish politicians criticized Arla, and called on Danish women to boycott Arla's products in Denmark. In April 2006, the company said that its products are being placed back in stores in the Middle East. Before the boycott, it supplied stores in the area. It announced that many of its largest clients in Saudi Arabia would start selling its butter and cheese on April 8 . Arla has started sponsoring humanitarian causes in the Middle East in order to reduce bad feelings from consumers. 2008 Chinese milk scandal Arla Foods has a joint venture company Arla Mengniu, in association with Mengniu , one of the companies involved in the 2008 Chinese milk scandal involving the addition of melamine to milk products. Executive director Jais Valeur stated that: "We are part of this crisis – just as we’re a part of the solution." See also *List of Swedish companies *List of Danish companies References External links *Arla Foods website *Arla Foods UK *Arla Foods Ingredients *Arla Sweden *Arla Denmark Category:Companies of Denmark Category:Companies of Sweden Category:Agricultural cooperatives Category:Dairy products companies Category:2008 food protein contamination bs:Arla Foods da:Arla Foods de:Arla Foods fr:Arla Foods he:ארלה פודס ja:アーラ・フーズ no:Arla Foods ru:Arla Foods fi:Arla Foods sv:Arla Foods